Collapsible tube



Aug. 11, 19 36;- K. RU E TZ 9 GOLLAPSUIBLE TUBE Filed May 9, 1934 Patented Aug. 11', 1936 UNITED STATES PATET OFFICE 2.050.809 cotiarsmm runs Karl Buetz, Zurich, Switzerland Application May a. 1934, Serial No. 724,720 In Germany October 23. 1933 2 Claims. (01.221-60) the surface of the prismatic head when opening or closing said cap and that in this way an airtight sealing no longer is provided for. The

present invention eliminates this disadvantage by adapting part of said longitudinally sliding cap in the form of a spring and providing at that springy end at least one rigid lip bent downward, so as to have said rigid bend lift up said springy part of said cap together with said packing at the beginning of the opening movement, inwhich case, with a. progressive opening movement, and also with the closing movement, said packing does not drag upon the surface of the tube head. The

rigid bend then sets said springs part or said cap free at the moment only when the closing movement has come to an end, so that said springy part with said packing may snap vertically downward onto the discharge opening.

In the drawing, three waysof executing the object of the invention are exemplified:

Fig. 1 showing an elevation, with partial sec- I tion, of the first design, with the slide in the closed position;

Fig. 2 showing a section along line 11-11 of Fig. 3 showing a plan of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 showing an elevation; Fig. 5 showing an elevation, with partial section, 5 of the tube head, with the slide in the open position;

Fig. 6 showing a section along line VI-VI .of

Fig. '7 showing a bottom-view of the slide; 40 Fig. 8 shows a vertical section of the second design, with the slide in the closed position;

Fig. 9 shows the same section with the slide in the open position; i

Fig. 10 shows a section along line X-X'of Fig.

head 2 .of tube I is, in plan, of rectangular or prismatic shape (Fig. 3) and possessesan axial opening 3 as'well as a recess 4 (Fig. 1). Leg 5 of a spring-bow B-'-6 shows a slit 1 (Fig. 7) and two lateral aprons bent down (Fig. 2) forming rails -5 8.- Edgesl of rails 8 are bent inward engaging grooves ill of the tube-head. A packing means 12 for. opening 3 ls fastened to top-leg 6 by means of a rivet ll. means I! being, e. g., made of cork, and the'top leg 6 has the length of head 2. The 1 free end ot leg 6 is bent up to form ledge l3. A spreading device, made of wire, possesses an intermediate nose It (Fig. 3) from which two spreader-arn'is l5 issue laterally, continuing with legs l6 bent in U-shape and with their free ends bent 15 inward. Nose M projects through slit 1 of leg 5 into the recess i of tube-head 2 (Fig. 1), and the spreader-arms i5 lie between legs 5 and 8 of the spring-bow. Ends II project into the rear part of spring-bow 56. With thesllde in the.20

' closed position (Figs. 1-4) the 'spreader arms l5 lie in agroove. is (Fig. 5) of leg 5, and the corkplate 12 then is pushed by the pressure of springbow against tube-opening 3 and thus closes the latter tight. When opening the slide, spring- 25 how 5-6 takes the spreading device I l-l1 with it until nose I t of the latter is up against the rear wall of recess 6, in which position ends ll come to rest on the lower leg 5; moving the spring-bow now farther, spreader-arms l5 will be pushed out, 30 of groove l8, thus spreading both legs 5 and 6 of the wire-bow apart. At this stage cork-plate 12 will be lifted off tube-head 2 (Fig. 5). The open position is limited by bringing edges 9 of the slide up against ends it of grooves in (Fig. 4). When closing the tube, the ribbon of the tube-content,

which is being pushed out, is stricken off at the same time.- With the tube containing, for. example, tooth-paste, ledge l3 may be seized by the bristles of the tooth-brush so that the slide may 40 be shifted from the open into the closed position by a movement of the tooth-brush. With this movement, springebow 5-6 carries spreading device lfl-ll with it until nose It is upagainst the inner wall of recess 4 and ends I! again lie up against top-leg 6, when spreader arms IS, with a further shifting of spring-bow 5-6, slide back into groove l8 and thus push cork-plate l2 against opening 3, thus closing the latter tight. If the tube contains a facial cream instead of toothpaste, ledge l3 may be taken along by the hand, onto which the ribbon of the tube-content sis stricken off, and thus the tube be closed. In both cases the part of the contents which was pushed out of the tube and stricken off the tube-head by the closing action of the slide is taken up by the tooth-brush or the hand in motion and thus is not lost.

In the second example of design (Figs. 8-11), 5 spring-bow 5-6 also shows two rails 8 bent down on lower leg 5, the edges 9 of which are bent inward and engage in grooves in of tubehead 2. Cork-plate l2, serving as packing means, here again is fastened to top-leg 6 of 10 spring-bow 56 by means of rivet II. This cork-plate i2 is, in the closed position, pushed spring-like against axial opening 3 by means of a recess in lower leg 5. At the end of leg 6 we furthermore have two short lips 20 bent downward, which in the closed position extend downward over the front perpendicular side of tubehead 2 and thus hold the slide in the closed position. When the slide is opened, lips yield spring-like along the edge of the tube-head in 20 an upward sense and thus lift packing means l2 from the axial opening 3. Shifting the slide, lips 20 merely slide on top of the tube-head until they strike against ribs 21l provided laterally on tube-head 2 (Fig. 10), thus stopping a further movement of the slide.

The third design (Figs. 12-14) shows the front part 22 of slide 6 adapted as spring by means of short slits 23, and but one lip 20 covering the whole width of the slide. The lateral lips 8,

connected in the rear by a stop 24, have springy tongues 25 bent inward. These serve as stops when opening the slide, by coming up against ends 19; of grooves l0 recessed into the lateral walls. when opening the slide, ledge 20 of the springy front part 22 slides up onto the surface of tube-head 2, thus venting the packing means I2 and preventing the latter from developing too much friction on the tube-head. Since the slide during the opening operation is limited in its stroke by parts 25 and I9 and during the closing operation by wall 24, it cannot drop off.

I claim:

1. On a collapsible tube a prismatic head of rectangular shape in plane with a discharge opening for the contents, a sliding closure cap on top of said head movable longitudinally and substantially of the same length as said head, means to guide said cap laterally on said head parallel to the surface of the latter, one end of said cap longitudinally movable up to a point back of said opening, said end of said cap being springy and resiliently liftable, packing means for said opening on the lower side of said springy end of said cap and means for lifting said end and ,packing from the surface of said head at the beginning of the opening movement and lowering said end onto said head at the end of 20 the closing movement.

2. On a collapsible tube a prismatic head with a discharge opening for the contents of the tube,

a sliding closure cap on top of said head longitudinally movable and substantially of the same 25 length as said head, means to guide said cap laterally on said head parallel to the surfce of the latter, one end of said cap longitudinally movable up to" a point back of said opening of said head, said end being springy and resiliently 30 liftable, a packing means for said opening on the lower side of said springy end of said cap and as a lifting. means for said end at least one rigid lip bent down at said spring end of said cap. g 

